Now when Jacob saw that there was corn in Egypt. Genesis 42:1, 2 The famine in the house of Jacob T. H. Leale. I. CONSIDERED IN ITS REARING UPON THE DIVINE PURPOSES CONCERNING THE CHOSEN PEOPLE. II. CONSIDERED IN ITS EFFECT UPON JACOB'S SONS. "Why do ye look one upon another?" This sad question reavealed — 1. The utmost distress. 2. Great perplexity. 3. Forebodings of conscience. ( T. H. Leale. ) The famine; or, good out of evil W. S. Smith, B. D. I. THE WIDESPREAD CALAMITY. II. THE ERRAND TO EGYPT. III. THE DOUBTFUL RECEPTION. Learn: 1. When distresses and trials come, we should be ready to trust that God means to do good by them in some way, though we may not know how. 2. When difficulties occur, we should still hope on. 3. When disappointments are our lot, we should remember that they come not without God's knowledge and permission. 4. Humility and faith will always lead to renewed hope. ( W. S. Smith, B. D. ) Corn in Egypt We have here a picture of man's lost estate, he is in a sore soul-devouring famine. We discover here man's hope. His hope lies in that Joseph whom he knows not, who has gone before him and provided all things necessary, that his "wants may be supplied. And we have here practical advice, which was pre-eminently wise on the part of Jacob to his sons in his case, and which, being interpreted, is also the wisest advice to you and to me. Seeing that there is mercy for sinners, and that Jesus our brother has gone before us to provide for us an all-sufficient redemption, "Why sit we here and look one upon another?" There is mercy in the breast of God, there is salvation in Christ; "get you down thither, and buy for us from thence; that we may live, and not die." I. A PITIFUL PLIGHT. These sons of Jacob were overtaken by a famine. They were cast into a waste, howling wilderness of famine, with but one oasis, and that oasis they did not hear of till just at the time to which our text refers, when they learned to their joy that there was corn in Egypt. Permit me now to illustrate the condition of the sinner by the position of these sons of Jacob. 1. The sons of Jacob had a very great need of bread. But what is this compared with the sinner's needs! His necessities are such that only Infinity can supply them; he has a demand before which the demands of sixty-six mouths are as nothing. 2. Mark, again: what these people wanted was an essential thing. They did not lack clothes, that were a want, but nothing like the lack of bread; for a man might exist with but scanty covering. Oh that men should cry for bread — the absolute necessary for the sustenance of the body! But what is the sinner's want? Is it not exactly this? he wants that without which the soul must perish. 3. Yet again: the necessity of the sons of Jacob was a total one. They had no bread; there was none to be procured. Such is the sinner's case. It is not that he has a little grace and lacks more; but he has none at all. Of himself he has no grace. It is not that he has a little goodness, and needs to be made better; but he has no goodness at all, no merits, no righteousness — nothing to bring to God, nothing to offer for his acceptance; he is penniless, poverty-stricken; everything is gone whereon his soul might feed. 4. But yet worse: with the exception of Egypt, the sons of Jacob were convinced that there was no food anywhere. In speechless silence they resigned themselves to the woe which threatened to overwhelm them. Such is the sinner's condition, when first he begins to feel a hungering and thirsting after righteousness, he looks to others. "There is no hope for us; we have all been condemned, we have all been guilty, we can do nothing to appease the Most High"; what a wretched world were ours, if we were equally convinced of sin, and equally convinced that there was no hope of mercy! This, then, was the condition of Jacob's sons temporally, and it is our condition by nature spiritually. II. Now we come, in the second place, to the GOOD NEWS. Jacob had faith, and the ears of faith are always quiet; faith can hear the tread of mercy, though the footfall be as light as that of the angel among the flowers. Jacob had the ears of faith. He had been at prayer, I doubt not, asking God to deliver his family in the time of famine; and by and by he hears, first of his household, that there is corn in Egypt. Jacob heard the good news, and communicated it as speedily as possible to his descendants. Now, we also have heard the good news. Good news has been sent to us in the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. "There is corn in Egypt." We need not die. Now, we have better news than even Jacob had; although the news is similar, understanding it in a spiritual sense. 1. We are told to-day, by sure and certain witnesses, that there is corn in Egypt, there is mercy in God. Jacob's messenger might have deceived him — idle tales are told everywhere, and in days of famine men are very apt to tell a falsehood, thinking that to be true which they wish were so. The hungry man is apt to hope that there may be corn somewhere; and then he thinks there is; and then he says there is; and then, what begins with a wish comes to be a rumour and a report. But this day, my friends, it is no idle talk; no dream, no rumour of a deceiver. There is mercy with God, there is salvation with Him that He may be feared. 2. There is another thing in which we have the start of Jacob. Jacob knew there was corn in Egypt, but did not know who had the keeping of it. If he had known that, he would have said, "My sons, go down at once to Egypt, do not be at all afraid, your brother is lord of Egypt, and all the corn belongs to him." Nay, more, I can readily imagine that he would have gone himself, forthwith. Sinner, the mercies of God are under no lock and key except those over which Christ has the power. The granaries of heaven's mercy have no steward to keep them save Christ. He is exalted on high to give repentance and remission of sins. 3. There is yet another thing which the sons of Jacob knew nothing of. When they went to Egypt, they went on hap-hazard: If they knew there was corn, they were not sure they would get it. But when you and I go to Christ, we are invited guests. 4. But one other remark, and I will have done with this second point. The sons of Jacob were in one respect better off than you are apparently, for they had money with which to buy. Jacob was not a poor man in respect of wealth, although he had now become exceedingly poor from lack of bread. His sons had money to take with them. Glittering bars of gold they thought must surely attract the notice of the ruler of Egypt. You have no money, nothing to bring to Christ, nothing to offer Him. You offered Him something once, but He rejected all you offered Him as being spurious coins, imitations, counterfeits, and good for nothing. And now utterly stripped, hopeless, penniless, you say you are afraid to go to Christ because you have nothing of your own. Let me assure you that you are never in so fit a condition to go to Christ as when you have nowhere else to go to, and have nothing of your own. III. Thus I have noticed the good news as well as the pitiful plight. I come now to the third part, which is GOOD ADVICE. Jacob says, "Why do ye look one upon another?" And he said, "Behold I have heard that there is corn in Egypt; get you down thither, and buy for us from thence; that we may live, and not die." This is very practical advice. I wish people would act the same with religion as they do in temporal affairs. Jacob's sons did not say: "Well, that is very good news; I believe it," and then sit still and die. No, they went straightway to the place of which the good news told them corn was to be had. So should it be in matters of religion. We should not be content merely to hear the tidings, but we should never be satisfied until by Divine grace we have availed ourselves of them, and have found mercy in Christ. Lastly, let me put this question: "Why do ye look one upon another?" Why do ye sit still? Fly to Christ, and find mercy. Oh, says one, "I cannot get what I expect to have." But what do you expect? I believe some of our hearers expect to feel an electric shock, or something of that kind, before they are saved. The gospel says simply, "Believe." That they will not understand. They think there is to be something so mysterious about it. They can't make out what it is; but they are going to wait for it and then believe. Well, you will wait till doomsday; for if you do not believe this simple gospel, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ," God will not work signs and wonders to please your foolish desires. Your position is this — you are a sinner, lost, ruined; you cannot help yourself. Scripture says, "Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners." Your immediate business, your instantaneous duty is to cast yourself on that simple promise, and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, that as He came into the world to save sinners, He has therefore come to save you. What you have to do with, is that simple command — "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." In conclusion, I make this last remark: Did you notice the argument Joseph used why the sons should go to Egypt? It was this — "That we may live, and not die." Sinner, this is my argument with thee this morning. My dear hearers, the gospel of Christ is a matter of life and death with you. It is not a matter of little importance, but of all importance. There is an alternative before you; you will either be eternally damned, or everlastingly saved. Despise Christ, and neglect His great salvation, and you will be lost, as sure as you live. Believe in Christ; put your trust alone in Him, and everlasting life is yours. What argument can be more potent than this to men that love themselves? ( C. H. Spurgeon . ) The famine in Canaan J. C. Gray. I. FAMINE. 1. A dire calamity. Perhaps none greater. One which human wisdom cannot foresee. Affects all classes. Animal life depends on vegetable life, vegetable life on seasons, light, heat, rain, temperature, &c. These under the control of God. The lawmaker may suspend the operation of natural laws, moderate their influence, or affect their course. 2. Usually unexpected. In this case there was a warning given, and preparations made. Men cannot foresee the suspension or deviation of natural laws. Hopes for the future built on productiveness of the past. 3. Often over-ruled for good. In this case conspicuously so. Promotes human sympathy (thus the Irish famine, 1846-7, besides evoking much individual be. nevolence, was responded to by Parliamentary grants of, in the whole, £10,000,000. Ill. Indian famine, 1861). Provokes scientific inquiry into "supply and demand." of food. Leads to emigration and breaking up of new ground. 4. Always possible and near. World at any time only a harvest off starvation. 5. Generally local ( Genesis 8:22 ). "All countries" ( Genesis 41:57 ), those adjacent to Egypt. Kindness of Providence in this. Nations in their turn dependent on each other. Each "offers something for the general use." II. PLENTY. 1. Where? In Egypt. A storehouse of plenty for hungry nations. Always food in some place, and will be while the earth lasts. He who feeds the ravens knows what man has need of. 2. Why? Does it seem strange that the promised land should suffer, rather than be the favoured spot?(1) It was a small country.(2) Had other nations gone thither they would have conquered it.(3) Chiefly: it was part of the Divine plan that Israel should go down into Egypt, and the famine necessitated this. 3. How? By the extraordinary productiveness of seven preceding years, and the storing of the surplus corn. This effected by the instrumentality of Joseph. His mind supernaturally illuminated. Favour given him in the sight of the king of Egypt. Him appointment to office, including the absolute control of the produce of the land. III. BUYING FOOD. 1. Want in the house of Jacob. 2. The ten sent out to buy corn in Egypt. 3. They arrive in Egypt, and visit the royal granaries. 4. Joseph recognizes them, and they bow before him, and thus fulfil the dream. 5. To disarm suspicion, and to discover the temper of their minds, and the history of their family, they are charged with being spies, and cast into prison. 6. After three days they are liberated, and a hostage required for their return with the younger brother of whom they have spoken, and of whose existence Joseph affects to doubt. 7. Mutual recriminations respecting Joseph. 8. Joseph is affected by what he hears. 9. Simeon bound and left in prison, while they betake themselves away to Canaan. Learn: However great the dearth of the bread that perisheth, there is always sufficient of the "bread of life," and it is always accessible. ( J. C. Gray. ) Joseph's ten brethren went down to buy corn in Egypt. Genesis 42:3-20 Providence working in men's lives Dean Stanley. I. The story of Joseph is a good example of what is meant by Providence working for the best in the lives of men. Look at the young foreigner, as he comes to a land not his own; see how he resists the one great temptation of his age and station; observe how, through means not of his own seeking, through good report and evil, through much misunderstanding of others, but by consistent integrity and just dealing on his own part, he overcomes all the difficulties of his position, and is remembered long afterwards in his adopted land as the benefactor of his generation and the deliverer of his country. II. The story of Joseph is, perhaps, of all the stories in the Old Testament, the one which most carries us back to our childhood, both from the interest we felt in it as children, and from the true picture of family life which it presents. It brings before us the way in which the greatest blessings for this life and the next depend on the keeping up of family love pure and fresh, as when the preservation and fitting education of the chosen people depended on that touching generosity and brotherly affection which no distance of time, no new customs, no long sojourn in a strange land, could extinguish in the heart of Joseph. Home is on earth the best likeness of heaven; and heaven is that last and best home in which, when the journey of life is over, Joseph and his brethren, Jacob and his sons, Rachel and her children, shall meet to part no more. ( Dean Stanley. ) The first journey of Jacob's brethren into Egypt T. H. Leale. I. THEY SHOW EVIDENT SIGNS OF FEAR. Therefore they go together in a company, ten strong, that by their numbers they might encourage and support one another (ver. 3). II. THEIR WORST FOREBODINGS ARE FULFILLED. They dreaded Egypt, and events justified their fears. 1. They are received roughly (ver. 7). 2. They are suspected of evil designs (ver. 9). 3. They are threatened with the prospect of imprisonment and death. III. GREAT PRINCIPLES OF GOD'S MORAL GOVERNMENT ARE :ILLUSTRATED IN THIS HISTORY. 1. That pride is sure to meet with a fall. In verse 6 we are told that "Joseph's brethren came and bowed down themselves before him with their faces to the earth." Where were now those lofty looks, and that contemptuous tone with which they said when Joseph had told them of his dreams — "Shalt thou then indeed reign over us, or shalt thou have dominion over us?" 2. That nothing can hinder the counsel of God from taking effect. 3. That the crisis will arrive when the wicked must appear before the judgment-seat of the pious. 4. That retribution, even in kind, follows sin. 5. That throughout the severity of God's righteous anger against Sin there runs a purpose of mercy. ( T. H. Leale. ) The first journey of Joseph's brethren into Egypt F. W. Robertson, M. A. I. THE FAMINE IN CANAAN. II. THE OFFICE OF CONSCIENCE (ver. 21). Where sin is voluntary wrong-doing, the language of the human heart inevitably connects the penalty with the wrong-doing. In every temptation that comes upon you, think what it will be in the hour of death to be free from the recollection of it. Refrain, refrain, remember the hereafter. III. OBSERVE THE SEVERITY IN THE LOVE OF JOSEPH (ver. 7). He did not allow his personal feelings to interfere with what seemed to him his duty. Joseph's love to his brethren was a noble love. God's love to us is still nobler, and severity accompanies it. It does not shrink from human suffering, for suffering is necessary for the man's well being. IV. Lastly, we remark on THE RETURN HOMEWARDS OF JOSEPH'S BRETHREN. Jacob expected corn to relieve their necessities; he got the corn, but with it came sorrow upon sorrow. Bereaved of Joseph, he is now bereaved of Simeon also. In Jacob's answers to his sons, in the close of the chapter, we find a depth of querulousness and despondency. Job was tried with sorrows far more severe, and yet they only served and contributed to the purifying of his spirit. In order to understand the cause of Jacob's despondency we must go far back. Jacob was a selfish man; his very religion was selfish; he would become religious only on condition that God would protect and guide him. To that selfish origin may be traced all the evils of his after life. Throughout it seems to have been his principle to receive as much as possible, and to give as little as he could. He who lives in this world for his own personal enjoyment, without God and His Christ, will by degrees find, like Jacob, that he has no rock to rest his soul upon, but that he must go down in sorrow to the grave. ( F. W. Robertson, M. A. ) The retributions of Providence A. P. Watson. Men troubled by memory of former sins, not because they doubt mercy of God, but because they doubt themselves. Jacob's sons better men than formerly, yet the retribution follows. I. The vengeance of TIME. The sin of twenty years ago. Time no friend to the sinner. Time gives the harvest opportunity and room to develop. Years of Joseph's imprisonment. Years of torture to brethren. II. The vengeance of CIRCUMSTANCES. Every link in chain, strong and connected with next link. "Remarkable series of coincidences," very. The plots and counterplots of fiction: of. with Scripture. III. The vengeance of MEMORY. Joseph's cries wrought into the mental texture of these men. Hetfy, in "Adam Bede." The baby's cry: " Son, remember." Memory, a cup of blessing, or devil's scourge. IV. The vengeance of CONSCIENCE. Memory may exaggerate, extenuate, add, subtract, &c. But conscience is a just judge. Hamlet, "The play's the thing," &c. Adonibezak, conscience-stricken wretch. V. The vengeance of PUBLICITY. Evildoers clever in blocking up ninety-nine avenues of discovery. The 100th. The shame. The collapse. Conclusion: Vengeance, not last word in relation to sin. "We know that He was manifested," &c. "Better to fall," &c. "Faithful and just." "Though your sins as mountains rise," &c. ( A. P. Watson. ) Joseph knew his brethren, but they knew not him. Genesis 42:8 The betrayers confronted with the betrayed St. J. A. Frere. I. AN INSTANCE OF DIVINE PROVIDENCE. II. A PREPARATION FOR GRACE. III. A FORESHADOWING OF GRACE. ( St. J. A. Frere. ) Known and watched J. Henry Burn, B. D. I. BOTH OPEN AND SECRET SINNERS ARE KNOWN AND WATCHED BY GOD. II. BOTH TRUE AND FALSE PROFESSORS ARE KNOWN AND WATCHED BY THE WORLD. ( J. Henry Burn, B. D. ) We are true men. Genesis 42:11-17 True life W. L. Watkinson. I. THE MISTAKEN ESTIMATE. "We are true men." Were they? They spoke for themselves, they spoke for one another; but had they a good report of the truth itself? You know better than that — they were not true men, anything but true men. How came it to pass that they formed such a mistaken estimate of themselves? How comes it to pass that men now-a-days form similarly false estimates of themselves? 1. They dwelt on their superficial goodness, and forgot their deeper wickedness. "We are no spies." No; they felt hurt by the very suspicion; they would have scorned the thing. But there are worse things than going forth to see the nakedness of the land, worse men than spies. And these very men were guilty of far greater wickedness (see Genesis 37:2, 4, 5, 11, 18, 20 ). They were guilty of malice, falsehood, treachery, murder. Their conduct was unmanly, unbrotherly, unfilial. They were not spies, but they were liars, impostors, kidnappers, fratricides, monsters. But they ignored the profound wickedness, and dwelt fondly upon a goodness which was not very good. Is not this a very common method with us still? We think how blameless we are in matters on the very surface of life, and forget how guilty we are in the weightier matters of the law. 2. They dwelt on their exceptional goodness, and forgot their prevailing wickedness. "We are no spies." They were right here, but in how many respects were they wanting? How many base characteristics they had we have just seen. But is not this seizing on some creditable trait of character, and ignoring all the bad traits a constant source of self deception? Says the prodigal son, listening to some story of covetousness and meanness, "Well, anyhow, nobody can charge me with money-grubbing!" And the man who is a walking lie, a mass of selfishness, full of egotism and pride, will reply, when some one is convicted of tippling, "Well, thank heaven, I never was a beast!" People think sometimes that the Pharisee is only found in the Church among seemingly good people; but the Pharisee is in the world also, in the most outrageous stoners, and it is often curious to hear the sanctimonious accent in the hiccup of the drunkard, and to see the broad phylactery showing through the finery of the harlot. The apostle says, "If we offend in one point we are guilty of all," but we argue as if to keep one point was to be innocent of all. "True men." They are true all round, the soundness of their hearts discovering itself in the harmony and beauty of their whole life. But, alas I we judge ourselves by some phase of exceptional goodness, and because we are not spies conclude ourselves saints. 3. They dwelt on their present goodness and forgot their past wickedness. "We are no spies." They were right in that matter, right at that time, but what of the past? The moral insensibility and forgetfulness exhibited by these men is simply surprising. So it is with ourselves. Nothing is more startling than our moral unconsciousness and forgetfulness. We easily believe time sponges out all disagreeable records, and presents us with a clean state. "True men." We are not true men until we are "purged from our old sins." II. THE PAINFUL EXPOSURE. How wonderfully God can cleave to our very heart, and show us what spirit we are of, no matter how profoundly we may have been disguised from ourselves. Many years ago in Brazil a slave found what was supposed to be a diamond of nearly a pound weight. It was presented to the emperor, constantly guarded by soldiers, and was supposed to represent millions of money. But an English mineralogist produced a cutting diamond, and scratched the supposed mammoth prize. One scratch was enough, if it had been a real gem it would not have taken a scratch, it was no diamond at all, the millions vanished in a moment into thin air. So God detects and exposes character. It was thus in the narrative before us. "And Joseph said unto them the third day, This do, and live; for I fear God: if ye be true men bring your youngest brother unto me." That single scratch spoiled all the string of diamonds. "And they said one to another, We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul, and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us." The " true men" were found out, they knew themselves to be frauds. So God finds us all out one day or the other, one way or other. We notice sometimes with our friends how they suddenly stand revealed to us in a light most unexpected; they flash upon us in a character hitherto wholly unsuspected by us. And so our true self is long concealed from ourself, but at last God by His Spirit makes us know our true self, and we are filled with astonishment and distress. By Christ " the thoughts of many hearts are revealed." By the Spirit of Christ "the world is convinced of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment." The Pharisee at last becomes a publican, and smiting on his breast, cries, "God be merciful to me a sinner." "A true man." Is not that the very grandest character you can give a man? How eloquent it is! "A true man." Is not that the very grandest epitaph you can write over the dead? Rich man, successful man, great man, gifted man, no, none of these are to be compared with " a true man." We all covet that inscription far more than sculptured urn or animated bust. And yet many of us are painfully conscious that we are not "true men." Oh! no, far from it. How full we are of weakness, hypocrisy, confusion, misery. "False and full of sin I am." But we may be all made "true men." Jesus was the true man, "the Son of Man," as Luther calls Him, "the Proper Man." Oh! how brave, noble, majestic, tender, pure, true, was the ideal Man. How grand is man when he reaches the full conception of his nature! And Christ can make us "true men," that is His mission. ( W. L. Watkinson. ) Searchings of heart W. S. Smith, B. D. I. PAINFUL SUSPENSE. II. PANGS OF REMORSE. III. A PERPLEXING INCIDENT (vers. 27, 28). IV. A PLAINTIVE LAMENT (vers. 36, 38). ( W. S. Smith, B. D. ) The accusation G. Lawson, D. D. Far be it from us to say that Joseph had attained absolute perfection when he was on earth, although his virtues were far beyond those of most other men. It will not be easy, or rather it will be impossible, to exempt him from the charge of dissimulation, when he alleged that his brethren were spies. His words are not to be considered as an assertion, but they express a suspicion, which certainly did not enter into his mind. His design was good. He meant to humble them for their good, but good intentions will not excuse a departure from truth. He knew that they were not spies come to see the nakedness of the land, but he wished, without discovering himself to them, to be informed of the welfare of his father and of his father's house. It is to be remembered that Joseph lived before the law was given. The light which discovers sin and duty shone less brightly in his days than in ours, and therefore the limits between what is lawful and what is unlawful would not be so easily discerned. It is likewise to be feared that Joseph's station as Prime Minister in the court of Pharaoh led him into connections, and placed him in circumstances, unfavourable to progress in virtue. He held fast his integrity, and would not let it go amidst great temptations, but human infirmity discovered itself in some parts of his conduct. ( G. Lawson, D. D. ) The answer G. Lawson, D. D. It could not be supposed that one man would suffer ten of his sons to engage at once in a business so full of perils as that of spies, or that so many brethren should risk the almost total extirpation of their father's house at one blow. It requires a very daring spirit for a man to venture his own life in an office so desperate; but who would venture at once his own life and the life of almost all that are dear to him along with his own? Clear proof, at least, is requisite before belief can be given to an accusation so improbable as this which was laid against Joseph's brethren, when it was known that they all belonged to the same house, and that there was only one brother left at home with a father sinking under the burden of age. "We are true men, we are no spies. We are what we pretend to be, and have assumed no false character." The business of a spy is not in all cases unlawful. It is a business, however, so full of temptations to falsehood that an honest man will not rashly undertake it. ( G. Lawson, D. D. ) Put to the test unconsciously W. M. Taylor, D. D. The whole treatment of his brothers by Joseph was meant to prove their characters, and see whether they had or had not repented of their sin against him, and whether they had or had not changed their disposition and mode of life. They did not know that he was thus experimenting on them, but the result satisfied him, and led to his revelation of himself to them. Now it is often similar with men and their fellows. When Gideon led his army to the brook, and saw his soldiers drink, they had no idea that he was picking out his three hundred for his midnight attack on the Midianitish camp. But so it was; for those who did not care luxuriously to go down on hands and knees to put their mouths to the stream, but who simply lapped the water up with their hands as a dog laps up with his tongue, showed thereby that they had the qualities of rapidity, dash, and hardihood which were specially needed for the service on which he was bent, and therefore they were selected for it. Even so men have been watched by others when they were not thinking of anything of the kind, and the diligence, energy, integrity, and amiability which they have shown has commended them to those interested for some situation of trust, honour, and emolument. Young man, your employer is testing yon when you do not know it, therefore see that you are faithful and obliging even in that which is least, that you may approve yourself worthy of something greater. Many incidents might here be narrated to prove that men have risen from comparative obscurity to eminence simply because they had been tested, unwittingly to themselves, by others who were on the outlook for the agents that would most effectually serve their purpose. When they rose, envious people prated about "luck," but they who knew best spoke about character manifested by faithfulness in that which was least, and saw in their promotion the earthly miniature of the doing of the last Judge, who shall say to him whom He approves, "Thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord." ( W. M. Taylor, D. D. ) For I fear God. Genesis 42:18 The fear of God N. L. Frothingham. 1. The first impression which the human mind receives from the conviction of an over-ruling Power, is that of fear. It is a moral impression. It is made upon the conscience. A feeling of awe at the thought of an invisible witness, who judges and will requite. 2. "For I fear God." The text begins with a word that connects it with something else; that supposes a reason for the assertion it makes. Why should we thus "fear" Him? Because He is present to every agreement that is made, to every promise that is spoken, to every purpose that is secretly devised, to every action, however silently done. Because He is holy, and "the righteous Lord hateth iniquity." Because He is mighty, and who can stand before His displeasure? Because He requires the duty by which we feel ourselves bound. Because He appoints every law, and chastises for its infraction. Because, if through that subduing veneration, that salutary dread, we hold fast our integrity and depart from evil, we are encouraged by His assurances, we are encompassed by His defence. 3. There are various ways in which these effects are produced upon the children of disobedience.(1) They fear the powers of the visible world, as if they were ready to betray or smite their delinquencies; as if their sounds might publish something concerning them, or their "arrows upon the string" had an aim towards them. The stormy wind or the voice of the waters may have a word to fulfil for their condemnation. The rustling leaf has a warning. The bare bough points. "A bird of the air shall carry the matter." There is a Greek story of a poet who, falling under the daggers of robbers, called upon some cranes who was flying overhead to avenge his death. While his name and fate were yet upon the public tongue, in a great assembly of the people — when in the vast theatre of Corinth, open to the sky, the solemn chorus and personation of the Furies were exhibiting the truth, that "there is no shadow of death where the workers of iniquity can hide themselves" — a flock of those noisy birds darkened and shook the air. A cry escaped from the assassins, who were present at the spectacle. Their detection followed, and their just death was added as the terrible conclusion of the sacred song, and fulfilment of its prophecy. The story may be true, for doubtless such things have been. And they illustrate one part of the fact, that the creation, even in its innocent objects and pleasant forms, is the enemy of those who will not make the Author of it a friend.(2) There are surprises of Providence, in disappointment, deprivation, pain. These are trials wherever they fall; but to per

Benson Commentary Genesis 42:1 Now when Jacob saw that there was corn in Egypt, Jacob said unto his sons, Why do ye look one upon another? Genesis 42:1-2 . When Jacob saw — That is, heard, as the word is used, Exodus 20:18 ; or saw the corn which his neighbours had bought there and brought home. Why look ye one upon another? — As careless and helpless persons, each one expecting relief from the other; but none offering either counsel or help for the subsistence of all. Go down thither — Masters of families must not only pray for daily bread for their families, but must, with care and industry, endeavour to provide it. Genesis 42:2 And he said, Behold, I have heard that there is corn in Egypt: get you down thither, and buy for us from thence; that we may live, and not die. Genesis 42:3 And Joseph's ten brethren went down to buy corn in Egypt. Genesis 42:4 But Benjamin, Joseph's brother, Jacob sent not with his brethren; for he said, Lest peradventure mischief befall him. Genesis 42:5 And the sons of Israel came to buy corn among those that came: for the famine was in the land of Canaan. Genesis 42:6 And Joseph was the governor over the land, and he it was that sold to all the people of the land: and Joseph's brethren came, and bowed down themselves before him with their faces to the earth. Genesis 42:6 . Joseph’s brethren came and bowed themselves before him — Some have inferred from this that the names of all the strangers that came to buy corn in Egypt were brought to Joseph and registered; and such persons or families as were any way remarkable, were brought before him. Thus his brethren would of course be introduced to him: but, in general, he undoubtedly sold the corn by deputies. With their faces to the earth — The common method of salutation in the eastern nations. Thus Joseph’s first dream was already fulfilled; their sheaves bowed to his sheaf. Genesis 42:7 And Joseph saw his brethren, and he knew them, but made himself strange unto them, and spake roughly unto them; and he said unto them, Whence come ye? And they said, From the land of Canaan to buy food. Genesis 42:7 . We may well wonder that Joseph, during the twenty years he had been in Egypt, especially during the last seven years that he had been in power there, never sent to his father to acquaint him with his circumstances; nay, it is strange that he, who so oft went through all the land of Egypt, never made a step to Canaan, to visit his aged father. When he was in the borders of Egypt that lay next to Canaan, perhaps it would not have been above three or four days’ journey for him in his chariot. It is a probable conjecture, that his whole management of himself in this affair was by special direction from Heaven, that the purpose of God, concerning Jacob and his family, might be accomplished. When Joseph’s brethren came, he knew them by many a good token, but they knew not him, little thinking to find him there. Genesis 42:8 And Joseph knew his brethren, but they knew not him. Genesis 42:9 And Joseph remembered the dreams which he dreamed of them, and said unto them, Ye are spies; to see the nakedness of the land ye are come. Genesis 42:9 . He remembered the dreams — But they had forgotten them. The laying up of God’s oracles in our hearts will be of excellent use to us in all our conduct. Joseph had an eye to his dreams, which he knew to be divine, in his carriage toward his brethren, and aimed at the accomplishment of them, and the bringing his brethren to repentance; and both those points were gained. Genesis 42:10 And they said unto him, Nay, my lord, but to buy food are thy servants come. Genesis 42:11 We are all one man's sons; we are true men , thy servants are no spies. Genesis 42:12 And he said unto them, Nay, but to see the nakedness of the land ye are come. Genesis 42:13 And they said, Thy servants are twelve brethren, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and, behold, the youngest is this day with our father, and one is not. Genesis 42:14 And Joseph said unto them, That is it that I spake unto you, saying, Ye are spies: Genesis 42:15 Hereby ye shall be proved: By the life of Pharaoh ye shall not go forth hence, except your youngest brother come hither. Genesis 42:15 . By the life of Pharaoh — As sure as Pharaoh lives, or as I value the life of Pharaoh. A solemn protestation, as Judah, who heard it, and must have understood its meaning, explains it to his father, Genesis 43:3 ; The man did solemnly protest unto us. It seems, however, to have been the form of an oath in use among the Egyptians, as afterward the Romans used to swear by the name and life of their emperors. And it is no wonder that Joseph was carried by the stream of the general practice of the court, especially as the law of God concerning the appropriation of oaths unto God, that men are to swear only by his name, or are only to appeal to him for the truth of what they affirm, was not yet delivered. Genesis 42:16 Send one of you, and let him fetch your brother, and ye shall be kept in prison, that your words may be proved, whether there be any truth in you: or else by the life of Pharaoh surely ye are spies. Genesis 42:17 And he put them all together into ward three days. Genesis 42:18 And Joseph said unto them the third day, This do, and live; for I fear God: Genesis 42:18 . For I fear God — This was a very encouraging word unto them. It is as if he had said, You may assure yourselves I will do you no wrong; I dare not, for I know that, as high as I am, there is one higher than I. With those that fear God we have reason to expect fair dealing: the fear of God will be a check upon those that are in power, to restrain them from abusing their power to oppression and tyranny. Genesis 42:19 If ye be true men , let one of your brethren be bound in the house of your prison: go ye, carry corn for the famine of your houses: Genesis 42:20 But bring your youngest brother unto me; so shall your words be verified, and ye shall not die. And they did so. Genesis 42:21 And they said one to another, We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us. Genesis 42:21 . We are verily guilty — This is the just punishment of that wickedness which we committed against our brother. Though we could conceal it from men, we now see and feel it was known to God, who is reckoning with us for it. Thus the divine vengeance overtakes them, and conscience tortures them for a sin committed twenty years before, and their affliction, we may hope, brought them to repentance. We saw the anguish of his soul when he besought us — This particular is not mentioned in the history of this affair, recorded chap. 37., from which circumstance we learn, that the silence of Scripture concerning certain matters, is not a sufficient proof that they did not take place. We do not read that Joseph’s brethren were brought to feel this remorse of conscience, or made this confession to each other, during their three days of imprisonment; but now, when the matter was come to some issue, and they saw themselves still embarrassed, they began to relent. Perhaps Joseph’s mention of the fear of God, put them upon consideration, and extorted this reflection from them. Genesis 42:22 And Reuben answered them, saying, Spake I not unto you, saying, Do not sin against the child; and ye would not hear? therefore, behold, also his blood is required. Genesis 42:23 And they knew not that Joseph understood them ; for he spake unto them by an interpreter. Genesis 42:23 . He spake by an interpreter — Joseph’s pretending not to understand their language was a wise piece of art, as by that means he discovered their real sentiments, as it appears they spoke to one another in their own language without reserve before him, probably when the interpreter was gone forth. Genesis 42:24 And he turned himself about from them, and wept; and returned to them again, and communed with them, and took from them Simeon, and bound him before their eyes. Genesis 42:25 Then Joseph commanded to fill their sacks with corn, and to restore every man's money into his sack, and to give them provision for the way: and thus did he unto them. Genesis 42:26 And they laded their asses with the corn, and departed thence. Genesis 42:27 And as one of them opened his sack to give his ass provender in the inn, he espied his money; for, behold, it was in his sack's mouth. Genesis 42:28 And he said unto his brethren, My money is restored; and, lo, it is even in my sack: and their heart failed them , and they were afraid, saying one to another, What is this that God hath done unto us? Genesis 42:28 . Their heart failed them, and they were afraid — Their awakened consciences set their sins in order before them, made them afraid of every thing, and threw them into the utmost dismay and consternation. Saying one to another, What is this that God hath done unto us? — They knew that the Egyptians abhorred a Hebrew, ( Genesis 43:32 ,) and therefore, since they could not expect to receive any kindness from them, they concluded that their money was put into their sacks with a design to pick a quarrel with them, and the rather, because the man, the lord of the land, had charged them as spies. Thus they construed every circumstance in this affair as the purpose of God to bring evil upon them, for their unnatural and cruel usage of their brother. When the events of Providence concerning us are surprising, it is good to inquire what it is that God has done, and is doing with us. Genesis 42:29 And they came unto Jacob their father unto the land of Canaan, and told him all that befell unto them; saying, Genesis 42:30 The man, who is the lord of the land, spake roughly to us, and took us for spies of the country. Genesis 42:31 And we said unto him, We are true men ; we are no spies: Genesis 42:32 We be twelve brethren, sons of our father; one is not, and the youngest is this day with our father in the land of Canaan. Genesis 42:33 And the man, the lord of the country, said unto us, Hereby shall I know that ye are true men ; leave one of your brethren here with me, and take food for the famine of your households, and be gone: Genesis 42:34 And bring your youngest brother unto me: then shall I know that ye are no spies, but that ye are true men: so will I deliver you your brother, and ye shall traffick in the land. Genesis 42:35 And it came to pass as they emptied their sacks, that, behold, every man's bundle of money was in his sack: and when both they and their father saw the bundles of money, they were afraid. Genesis 42:36 And Jacob their father said unto them, Me have ye bereaved of my children : Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and ye will take Benjamin away : all these things are against me. Genesis 42:36 . Me have ye bereaved of my children — Who can read Jacob’s lamentation here without being moved by it? He considers Simeon as already dead, being in the power of so rough a man as they described the lord of the country to be: he reflects on his former loss of Joseph, and he looks on Benjamin, the only remaining pledge of his beloved Rachel, as already taken from him. And what makes it the more moving is, that by his expressions it seems as if he thought his sons did not sympathize with him, and were little affected with these calamities. Nay, the unhappy father seems to have suspected that it was a plot of his sons to bereave him of Benjamin. All these things are against me — How ready have we all been to think and say the same amid disappointments, and afflictive dispensations of Providence, even at a time when all things, although in a mysterious way, were working together for our good! Genesis 42:37 And Reuben spake unto his father, saying, Slay my two sons, if I bring him not to thee: deliver him into my hand, and I will bring him to thee again. Genesis 42:37 . Slay my two sons — This was a very rash and absurd proposal. What authority had Reuben to dispose of the lives of his children? And how could the murder of two grandchildren compensate Jacob for the loss of Benjamin? Besides, how did he know that Benjamin, if he went, would live to return, or that he should be able to restore him to his father? He ought, at least, to have said, “If the Lord will.” But he seems to have been little sensible of his dependance on Divine Providence. Genesis 42:38 And he said, My son shall not go down with you; for his brother is dead, and he is left alone: if mischief befall him by the way in the which ye go, then shall ye bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave. Genesis 42:38 . My son shall not go down with you — Nothing can be more tender than this verse: it melts us while we read it, and is so expressive that it sets the venerable old patriarch full before our eyes. His brother is dead, and he is left alone — He plainly intimates a distrust of them, remembering that he never saw Joseph since he had been with them; therefore Benjamin should not go with them. Benson Commentary on the Old and New Testaments Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com . Used by Permission.

Expositor's Bible Commentary Genesis 42:1 Now when Jacob saw that there was corn in Egypt, Jacob said unto his sons, Why do ye look one upon another? VISITS OF JOSEPH’S BRETHREN Genesis 42:1-38 ; Genesis 43:1-34 ; Genesis 44:1-34 "Fear not: for am I in the place of God? But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good."- Genesis 50:19-20 . THE purpose of God to bring Israel into Egypt was accomplished by the unconscious agency of Joseph’s natural affection for his kindred. Tenderness towards home is usually increased by residence in a foreign land; for absence, like a little death, sheds a halo round those separated from us. But Joseph could not as yet either revisit his old home or invite his father’s family into Egypt. Even, indeed, when his brothers first appeared before him, he seems to have had no immediate intention of inviting them as a family to settle in the country of his adoption, or even to visit it. If he had cherished any such purpose or desire he might have sent down wagons at once, as he at last did, to bring his father’s household out of Canaan. Why, then, did he proceed so cautiously? Whence this mystery, and disguise, and circuitous compassing of his end? What intervened between the first and last visit of his brethren to make it seem advisable to disclose himself and invite them? Manifestly there had intervened enough to give Joseph insight into the state of mind his brethren were in, enough to satisfy him they were not the men they had been, and that it was safe to ask them and would be pleasant to have them with him in Egypt. Fully alive to the elements of disorder and violence that once existed among them, and having had no opportunity of ascertaining whether they were now altered, there was no course open but that which he adopted of endeavouring in some unobserved way to discover whether twenty years had wrought any change in them. For effecting this object he fell on the expedient of imprisoning them, on pretence of their being spies. This served the double purpose of detaining them until he should have made up his mind as to the best means of dealing with them, and of securing their retention under his eye until some display of character might sufficiently certify him of their state of mind. Possibly he adopted this expedient also because it was likely deeply to move them, so that they might be expected to exhibit not such superficial feelings as might have been elicited had he set them down to a banquet and entered into conversation with them over their wine, but such as men are surprised to find in themselves, and know nothing of in their lighter hours. Joseph was, of course, well aware that in the analysis of character the most potent elements are only brought into clear view when the test of severe trouble is applied, and when men are thrown out of all conventional modes of thinking and speaking. The display of character which Joseph awaited he speedily obtained. For so new an experience to these free dwellers in tents as imprisonment under grim Egyptian guards worked wonders in them. Men who have experienced such treatment aver that nothing more effectually tames and breaks the spirit: it is not the being confined for a definite time with the certainty of release in the end, but the being shut up at the caprice of another on a false and absurd accusation; the being cooped up at the will of a stranger in a foreign country, uncertain and hopeless of release. To Joseph’s brethren so sudden and great a calamity seemed explicable only on the theory that it was retribution for the great crime of their life. The uneasy feeling which each of them had hidden in his own conscience, and which the lapse of twenty years had not materially alleviated, finds expression: "And they said one to another, We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us." The similarity of their position to that in which they had placed their brother stimulates and assists their conscience. Joseph, in the anguish of his soul, had protested his innocence, but they had not listened; and now their own protestations are treated as idle wind by this Egyptian. Their own feelings, representing to them what they had caused Joseph to suffer, stir a keener sense of their guilt than they seem ever before to have reached. Under this new light they see their sin more clearly, and are humbled by the distress into which it has brought them. When Joseph sees this, his heart warms to them. He may not yet be quite sure of them. A prison-repentance is perhaps scarcely to be trusted. He sees they would for the moment deal differently with him had they the opportunity, and would welcome no one more heartily than himself, whose coming among them had once so exasperated them. Himself keen in his affections, he is deeply moved, and his eyes fill with tears as he witnesses their emotion and grief on his account. Fain would he relieve them from their remorse and apprehension-why, then, does he forbear? Why does he not at this juncture disclose himself? It has been satisfactorily proved that his brethren counted their sale of him the great crime of their life. Their imprisonment has elicited evidence that that crime had taken in their conscience the capital place, the place which a man finds some one sin or series of sins will take, to follow him with its appropriate curse, and hang over his future like a cloud-a sin of which he thinks when any strange thing happens to him, and to which he traces all disaster-a sin so iniquitous that it seems capable of producing any results however grievous, and to which he has so given himself that his life seems to be concentrated there, and he cannot but connect with it all the greater ills that happen to him. Was not this, then, security enough that they would never again perpetrate a crime of like atrocity? Every man who has almost at all observed the history of sin in himself, will say that most certainly it was quite insufficient security against their ever again doing the like. Evidence that a man is conscious of his sin, and, while suffering from its consequences, feels deeply its guilt, is not evidence that his character is altered. And because we believe men so much more readily than God, and think that they do not require, for form’s sake, such needless pledges of a changed character as God seems to demand, it is worth observing that Joseph, moved as he was even to tears, felt that common prudence. forbade him to commit himself to his brethren without further evidence of their disposition. They had distinctly acknowledged their guilt, and in his hearing had admitted that the great calamity that had befallen them was no more than they deserved; yet Joseph, judging merely as an intelligent man who had worldly interests depending on his judgment, could not discern enough here to justify him in supposing that his brethren were changed men. And it might sometimes serve to expose the insufficiency of our repentance were clear-seeing men the judges of it, and did they express their opinion of its trustworthiness. We may think that God is needlessly exacting when He requires evidence not only of a changed mind about past sin, but also of such a mind being now in us as will preserve us from future sin; but the truth is, that no man whose common worldly interests were at stake would commit himself to us on any less evidence. God, then, meaning to bring the house of Israel into Egypt in order to make progress in the Divine education He was giving to them, could not introduce them into that land in a state of mind which would negative all the discipline they were there to receive. These men then had to give evidence that they not only saw, and in some sense repented of, their sin, but also that they had got rid of the evil passion which had led to it. This is what God means by repentance. Our sins are in general not so microscopic that it requires very keen spiritual discernment to perceive them. But to be quite aware of our sin, and to acknowledge it, is not to repent of it. Everything falls short of thorough repentance which does not prevent us from committing the sin anew. We do not so much desire to be accurately informed about our past sins, and to get right views of our past selves; we wish to be no longer sinners, we wish to pass through some process by which we may be separated from that in us which has led us into sin. Such a process there is, for these men passed through it. The test which revealed the thoroughness of his brothers’ repentance was unintentionally applied by Joseph. When he hid his cup in Benjamin’s sack, all that he intended was to furnish a pretext for detaining Benjamin, and so gratifying his own affection. But, to his astonishment, his trick effected far more than he intended; for the brothers, recognising now their brotherhood, circled round Benjamin, and, to a man, resolved to go back with him to Egypt. We cannot argue from this that Joseph had misapprehended the state of mind in which his brothers were, and in his judgment of them had been either too timorous or too severe; nor need we suppose that he was hampered by his relations to Pharaoh, and therefore unwilling to connect himself too closely with men of whom he might be safer to be rid; because it was this very peril of Benjamin’s that matured their brotherly affection. They themselves could not have anticipated that they would make such a sacrifice for Benjamin. But throughout their dealings with this mysterious Egyptian, they felt themselves under a spell, and were being gradually, though perhaps unconsciously, softened, and in order to complete the change passing upon them, they but required some such incident as this of Benjamin’s arrest. This incident seemed by some strange fatality to threaten them with a renewed perpetration of the very crime they had committed against Rachel’s other son. It threatened to force them to become again the instrument of bereaving their father of his darling child, and bring about that very calamity which they had pledged themselves should never happen. It was an incident, therefore, which, more than any other, was likely to call out their family love. The scene lives in every one’s memory. They were going gladly back to their own country with corn enough for their children, proud of their entertainment by the lord of Egypt; anticipating their father’s exultation when he heard how generously they had been treated and when he saw Benjamin safely restored, feeling that in bringing him back they almost compensated for having bereaved him of Joseph. Simeon is revelling in the free air that blew from Canaan and brought with it the scents of his native land, and breaks into the old songs that the strait confinement of his prison had so long silenced-all of them together rejoicing in a scarcely hoped-for success; when suddenly, ere the first elation is spent, they are startled to see the hasty approach of the Egyptian messenger, and to hear the stern summons that brought them to a halt, and boded all ill. The few words of the just Egyptian, and his calm, explicit judgment, "Ye have done evil in so doing," pierce them like a keen blade-that they should be suspected of robbing one who had dealt so generously with them; that all Israel should be put to shame in the sight of the stranger! But they begin to feel relief as one brother after another steps forward with the boldness of innocence; and as sack after sack is emptied, shaken, and flung aside, they already eye the steward with the bright air of triumph; when, as the very last sack is emptied, and as all breathlessly stand round, amid the quick rustle of the corn, the sharp rattle of metal strikes on their ear, and the gleam of silver dazzles their eyes as the cup rolls out in the sunshine. This, then, is the brother of whom their father was so careful that he dared not suffer him out of his sight! This is the precious youth whose life was of more value than the lives of all the brethren, and to keep whom a few months longer in his father’s sight Simeon had been left to rot in a dungeon! This is how he repays the anxiety of the family and their love, and this is how he repays the extraordinary favour of Joseph! By one rash childish act had this fondled youth, to all appearance, brought upon the house of Israel irretrievable disgrace, if not complete extinction. Had these men been of their old temper, their knives had very speedily proved that their contempt for the deed was as great as the Egyptian’s; by violence towards Benjamin they might have cleared themselves of all suspicion of complicity; or, at the best, they might-have considered themselves to be acting in a fair and even lenient manner if they had surrendered the culprit to the steward, and once again carried back to their father a tale of blood. But they were under the spell of their old sin. In all disaster, however innocent they now were, they saw the retribution of their old iniquity; they seem scarcely to consider whether Benjamin was innocent or guilty, but as humbled, God-smitten men, "they rent their clothes, and laded every man his ass, and returned to the city." Thus Joseph in seeking to gain one brother found eleven-for now there could be no doubt that they were very different men from those. brethren who had so heartlessly sold into slavery their father’s favourite-men now with really brotherly feelings, by penitence and regard for their father so wrought together into one family, that this calamity, intended to fall only on one of their number, did in falling on him fall on them all. So far from wishing now to rid themselves of Rachel’s son and their father’s favourite, who had been put by their father in so prominent a place in his affection, they will not even give him up to suffer what seemed the just punishment of his theft, do not even reproach him with having brought them all into disgrace and difficulty, but, as humbled men who knew they had greater sins of their own to answer for, went quietly back to Egypt, determined to see their younger brother through his misfortune or to share his bondage with him. Had these men not been thoroughly changed, thoroughly convinced that at all costs upright dealing and brotherly love should continue; had they not possessed that first and last of Christian virtues, love to their brother, then nothing could so certainly have revealed their want of it as this apparent theft of Benjamin’s. It seemed in itself a very likely thing that a lad accustomed to plain modes of life, and whose character it was to "ravin as a wolf," should, when suddenly introduced to the gorgeous Egyptian banqueting-house with all its sumptuous furnishings, have coveted some choice specimen of Egyptian art, to carry home to his father as proof that he could not only bring himself back in safety, but scorned to come back from any expedition empty-handed. It was not unlikely either that, with his mother’s own superstition, he might have conceived the bold design of robbing this Egyptian, so mysterious and so powerful, according to his brothers’ account, and of breaking that spell which he had thrown over them: he may thus have. conceived the idea of achieving for himself a reputation in the family, and of once for all redeeming himself from the somewhat undignified, and to one of his spirit somewhat uncongenial, position of the youngest of a family. If, as is possible, he had let any such idea ooze out in talking with his brethren as they went down to Egypt, and only abandoned it on their indignant and urgent remonstrance, then when the cup, Joseph’s chief treasure according to his own account, was discovered in Benjamin’s sack, the case must have looked sadly against him even in the eyes of his brethren. No protestations of innocence in a particular instance avail much when the character and general habits of the accused point to guilt. It is quite possible, therefore, that the brethren, though willing to believe Benjamin, were yet not so thoroughly convinced of his innocence as they would have desired. The fact that they themselves had found their money returned in their sacks, made for Benjamin; yet in most cases, especially where circumstances corroborate it, an accusation even against the innocent takes immediate hold and cannot be summarily and at once got rid of. Thus was proof given that the house of Israel was now in truth one family. The men who, on very slight instigation, had without compunction sold Joseph to a life of slavery, cannot now find it in their heart to abandon a brother who, to all appearance, was worthy of no better life than that of a slave, and who had brought them all into disgrace and danger. Judah had no doubt pledged himself to bring the lad back without scathe to his father, but he had done so without contemplating the possibility of Benjamin becoming amenable to Egyptian law. And no one can read the speech of Judah-one of the most pathetic on record-in which he replies to Joseph’s judgment that Benjamin alone should remain in Egypt, without perceiving that he speaks not as one who merely seeks to redeem a pledge, but as a good son and a good brother. He speaks, too, as the mouth-piece of the rest, and as he had taken the lead in Joseph’s sale, so he does not shrink from standing forward and accepting the heavy responsibility which may now light upon the man who represents these brethren. His former faults are redeemed by the courage, one may say heroism, he now shows. And as he spoke, so the rest felt. They could not bring themselves to inflict a new sorrow on their aged father; neither could they bear to leave their young brother in the hands of strangers. The passions which had alienated them from one another, and had threatened to break up the family, are subdued. There is now discernible a common feeling that binds them together, and a common object for which they willingly sacrifice themselves. They are, therefore, now prepared to pass into that higher school to which God called them in Egypt. It mattered little what strong and equitable laws they found in the land of their adoption, if they had no taste for upright living; it mattered little what thorough national organisation they would be brought into contact with in Egypt, if in point of fact they owned no common brotherhood, and were willing rather to live as units and every man for himself than for any common interest. But now they were prepared, open to teaching, and docile. To complete our apprehension of the state of mind into which the brethren were brought by Joseph’s treatment of them, we must take into account the assurance he gave them, when he made himself known to them, that it was not they but God who had sent him into Egypt. and that God had done this for the purpose of preserving the whole house of Israel. At first sight this might seem to be an injudicious speech, calculated to make the brethren think lightly of their guilt, and to remove the just impressions they now entertained of the unbrotherliness of their conduct to Joseph. And it might have been an injudicious speech to impenitent men; but no further view of sin can lighten its heinousness to a really penitent sinner. Prove to him that his sin has become the means of untold good, and you only humble him the more, and more deeply convince him that while he was recklessly gratifying himself and sacrificing others for his own pleasure, God has been mindful of others, and, pardoning him, has blessed them. God does not need our sins to work out His good intentions, but we give Him little other material; and the discovery that through our evil purposes and injurious deeds God has worked out His beneficent will, is certainly not calculated to make us think more lightly of our sin or more highly of ourselves. Joseph in thus addressing his brethren did, in fact, but add to their feelings the tenderness that is in all religious conviction, and that springs out of the consciousness that in all our sin there has been with us a holy and loving Father, mindful of His children. This is the final stage of penitence. The knowledge that God has prevented our sin from doing the harm it might have done does relieve the bitterness and despair with which we view our life, but at the same time it strengthens the most effectual bulwark between us and sin-love to a holy, over-ruling God. This, therefore, may always be safely said to penitents: Out of your worst sin God can bring good to yourself or to others, and good of an apparently necessary kind; but good of a permanent kind can result from your sin only when you have truly repented of it, and sincerely wish you had never done it. Once this repentance is really wrought in you, then, though your life can never be the same as it might have been had you not sinned, it may be, in some respects, a more richly developed life, a life fuller of humility and love. You can never have what you sold for your sin; but the poverty your sin has brought may excite within you thoughts and energies more valuable than what you have lost, as these men lost a brother but found a Saviour. The wickedness that has often made you bow your head and mourn in secret, and which is in itself unutterable shame and loss, may, in God’s hand, become food against the day of famine. You cannot ever have the enjoyments which are possible only to those whose conscience is laden with no evil remembrances, and whose nature, uncontracted and unwithered by familiarity with sin, can give itself to enjoyment with the abandonment and fearlessness reserved for the innocent. No more at all will you have that fineness of feeling which only ignorance of evil can preserve; no more that high and great conscientiousness which, once broken, is never repaired; no more that respect from other men which for ever and instinctively departs from those who have lost self-respect. But you may have a more intelligent sympathy with other men and a keener pity for them; the experience you have gathered too late to save yourself may put it in your power to be of essential service to others. You cannot win your way back to the happy, useful, evenly-developed life of the comparatively innocent, but the life of the true-hearted penitent, is yet open to yon. Every beat of your heart now may be as if it throbbed against a poisoned dagger, every duty may shame you, every day bring weariness and new humiliation, but let no pain or discouragement avail to defraud you of the good fruits of true reconciliation to God and submission to His lifelong discipline. See that you lose not both lives, the life of the comparatively innocent and the life of the truly penitent. The Expositor's Bible Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com . Used by Permission.